Gatineau Park

Trails Skied: Fortune Pkwy, Champlain Pkwy, #1, #1B, Glide Wax: CH7, Grip Wax:

Got an early start to avoid the crowds. At 8:30 there was still plenty of space at P10. The climb up the Fortune Parkway towards the sunlight was cold but beautiful. There was fresh grooming (probably done around 7AM) everywhere. The skate lane corduroy was hard and very fast, tending to nibble at the edges on the downhills. By the time I descended around 10:30AM sunlight and skier traffic had softened the surface nicely. At the intersection with Ridge I turned east and continued to the top of Penguin. I then backtracked and followed Ridge and 1B west to the first intersection with the Wolf Trail. The fresh grooming continued past this point. As usual the best skiing was to the west of the Trail 2 intersection. I didn't take Burma but it had been freshly groomed and the luge run to the Fortune Parkway looked fairly tame. The Khyber Pass was perfect-no rocks or ice patches. There is no excuse for a survival snowplow in the Pass today! Of course by the time I returned to P10 the crowds were ascending the Fortune Parkway. I noticed P8 was full when I drove by. Overall conditions are excellent. If you can find a place to park, go skiing!













Gatineau park map


Gatineau Park is ski paradise! The network of ski trails offer machine groomed skate skiing and classic skiing as well as little groomed backcountry trails. Multiple access points allow skiers to access a variety of terrain and scenery. The NCC offers season or daily pay rates.

Gatineau park map

For suggestions on where to ski, excellent trail descriptions, photos and maps checkout Michael McGoldrick`s website about recreational xc-skiing in Canada`s National Capital Region (with an emphasis on the Gatineau Park).

Gatineau park map